#soviet bard

[princesscolumbia]

So about the musical episode...

This is specifically geared to "Subspace Rhapsody," which if you haven't watched it shame on you go now and watch go go go go!!!

So by the end of the ep everything goes back to normal and it turns out the real musical ensemble was the friends we made along the way etc., but what if it didn't?!

Yes, there'd be immediate consequences; highly classified secrets getting out, relationships starting and ending, etc.

But humans adapt, and since the other species in the galaxy are the same kind of "fuck you, I'm surviving!" results of evolution, they'd all adapt, too.

First off, the big one: It'd be like that post where somehow Anakin and Obi-wan can hear the musical score an realize Palpatine is a sith lord; the bad guys would be outed, like, the SECOND their musical number started up. Khan would have been identified before the Enterprise even finished scanning the Botony Bay, the Prime Directive would have to get a big 'ol asterisk pointing to a clause describing the specific mathematical properties of different types of music the crew can expect to hear when approaching a potential first contact. Science experiments would be (metaphorically) killed on the spot because the "mad scientist" theme would start playing.

But a century on? Well, everyone would have adapted...

The Vulcans would have come up with an entirely new discipline; Rhythmic Logic. Rather akin to rap, it'd be syncopated speaking with periodic inflections to denote emphasis on certain points, and the passive aggressive sass levels would be off the CHARTS. Counterintuitive to most Vulcan training for centuries, to properly learn and master this new discipline, the Vulcans would need to induce moments of high emotion to properly initiate the musical triggering conditions, but once started their logic and ability to freestyle would then be put to use to focus and direct the song.

Andorians would be less about the singing and more about choreography. Their troop movements would be works of martial art and their ability to synchronize with each other during operations (any operation, whether medical, business, black-ops, etc.) would be legendary throughout the galaxy. When xenoanthropologists start proposing theories, the truth is swiftly buried for the sanity of the galaxy; since the "musical universe" is based on human musicals, Andorian affinity for good choreography is rooted in figure skating.

Tellarites would unabashedly embrace Weird Al as a sort-of prophet/god once they figured out that parody is the sincerest form of insult. Whatever musical number you're performing, the Tellarites will ride on top of it and twist it in crass ways until the song they sing drowns out whatever they're parodying and is considered the superior work. This, amusingly, results in relations between Tellar and Earth to improve as "bards" of both races across every strata of society compete to see who can make the better parody.

Romulans would lean into the villain pieces, like, unironically. Go to a diplomatic party on Romulus and you're beset by a massive orchestral work of interweaving harmonies as a melody of every big number and quiet ballad are melded together in a symphony of intrigue, emotion, politics, and betrayal. Yes, there's good Romulans, but because their music is JUST as "villainous" as the heroes, it's nearly impossible to tell them apart. Somewhat ironically, it's That One Romulan who only sings spritely songs in a major key that turns out to be the baddest, most lethal Romulan of all.

Klingon society would fracture into new houses based on musical style. The "Old Guard" would be the Klingons who break out into Klingon Opera on the regular. K-pop would be known for being vicious berserkers. Shakespere may be beloved by the Klingons, but the Soviet Anthems would become THE way to unify the Klingons during the "cold war" era.

Once the effect stretched into the Delta Quadrant (nobody in the quadrant knows why they've suddenly started breaking into song, and it isn't until well after Voyager returns home that someone in a university history department is given access to the full history of the Borg's interaction with Starfleet that they realize that it was Q launching the Enterprise D into the Delta Quadrant that created the contact), the Hirogen would come to be known for their absolutely epic power-metal ballads. Their "hunting axes" would become some variety of electric guitar almost overnight.

Because Voyager's crew had grown up with the "random" musicals, Voyager has a leg up on the entire Delta Quadrant, further solidifying Janeway as an unmitigated badass when she uses her absolute mastery of the musical forms to kick ass in every genre.

Cultures that had been introduced to warp flight badly (turns out the Federation had the right idea with the Prime Directive, just not for reasons that anyone could have ever predicted) can always be identified as being...cut rate. It'd be like going from a Broadway Musical production of Hamilton to encountering that one "Christian" production where they butchered the lyrics and the "b-list" actors were the best they could get.

Cardasians would be all about the martial themes. Even their counterculture movements would be all about the percussion-heavy 4:4 musical numbers.

Bajorans would be split between Broadway Musical-style numbers that seem to take inspiration from plays like "West Side Story" and Epic Battle Hymns sung by every Bajoran involved in a given conflict that reach deep into your soul and make you feel simultaneously victorious and deeply sad for reasons you can't quite identify.

The Borg would be EDM for some reason. Nobody is quite sure why.

Even the species that sent the whale probe in the 23rd century wouldn't be spared. Dubstep...dubstep everywhere!

Section 31 and the Tal Shiar would be in a black-ops weapons race to see who can weaponize the musicals the most effectively.

Time travelers would have a blast. Turns out the big reason for the Temporal Cold War was to stop a massive Temporal Prime Directive violating wave of time tourists who just want to go back to a time before musicals were a fact of life. Mariner and Boimler wouldn't even realize they hadn't broken out into song once until they returned to the 24th century.

Humans would be driving everyone nuts. A species that had adapted to using Rent-style musical numbers to form social collectives that were so "in-crowd" that nobody else could even think of joining would suddenly find this one asshole human that picked up on it and was fitting in perfectly. Klingon slasher ballads would be met with children's cartoon bubbly pop music. Andorians would be simultaneously overjoyed at having companions that could work so perfectly with them and appalled that another species dared to get on the ice with them.

The only beings immune to the whole thing would be the Q. The reason Q was the one interacting with Picard? He's the only Q that can stand the whole universe turning into a musical! He's "the band nerd" in Q high school, the one that'll break into a situationally appropriate musical hit number from that one Broadway play when nobody wants to hear you singing Q! Q doesn't have to sing like the lesser species, but by golly he WANTS to and he's GONNA!

[howtofightwrite]

How big would an army of conscripts, armed with Dragunov pattern marksman rifles and iron sights, with between 1 and 3 magazines each, a radio headset that allows them to take orders on a platoon level (50 troops to be specific), and a single platoon artilleryman armed with an RPG-7 with 5 rockets, with assistance from a Mitsubishi Type 89 IFV (35mm autocannon, 7,62mm M240 pattern coaxial machine gun, tracked) and an aerial command/reconnaisance/attack/close air support aircraft, need to be to deal with an army of 1000 heavy pikemen, 50 elite knights, 200 heavy cavalry, 100 light cavalry and 200 longbowmen? The pikemen are armed with a pike and wear breastplates, pauldrons, gauntlets, a helm and chainmail. The heavy cavalry are armed with a heavy lance, a sword, cuirass and helm. Longbowmen use English yew bows and wear gambesons and a chainmail on the head. Light cavalry are armed with a spear, a short bow, and a small sword. The elite knights are armed with a heavy lance and a sword, and armoured in a full body suit of plate and horse barding, and they will move with the heavy cavalry.

Okay, so, for the record, you're not really supposed to use an SVD's iron sights. (SVD is short for “Dragunov Sniper Rifle,” so, these are formally called, “sniper rifles,” rather than just DMRs.) They were (supposed to be) issued with PSO-1 scopes. This can be a little amusing, because once you know what a PSO-1's range finder looks like, it's absolutely unmistakable, and you will see films and TV shows use them on other scopes. I bring this up, because the SVD has an effective range over 600 meters. (Specifications say it's good to almost 1.3km, but, that's very hopeful.)

However, with optics, those SVDs are going to massive out range any archer.

Your infantry have somewhere between 1k-3k packed rounds. So, if they were the only participants, they would need to be a little careful about ammo conservation. But, when you start factoring in the IFV, it doesn't matter.

This scenario isn't extraordinarily different from early battles in WWI. Where cavalry and infantry charged entrenched heavy machine gun fire, and were annihilated.

This is also a moment when the whole, “elite knight,” bit really doesn't matter. You have a minor noble, who spent almost their entire life training to be a better melee combatant. You put them in the best armor you've ever seen. And, then a bullet fired from a mass-produced sniper rifle, designed to be easily fabricated by anyone with a basic machine shop, and simple enough to be maintained by a barely literate conscript will drop them in less time than it takes to read this paragraph, before the knight even knows that someone is aiming at them.

I will say, this is a little bit of a weird combination, the Type 89 IFV, is a Japanese vehicle. The JSDF (to the best of my knowledge) has never used SVDs. These days, I think their DMR is the H&K 417. Until a few years ago, their primary infantry rifle was the Howa Type 89, which is basically a redesigned AR-18. Prior to that, they used the Howa Type 64, which was a 7.62mm battle rifle. (As far as I know, the Type 64 was domestically designed.)

The Russian/Soviet equivalent to the Type 89 IFV would be the BTR-80. As with the SVD, because it's a Romanized translation, BTR stands for, “armored carrier.” Somewhat obviously, these don't work particularly well if they're not maintained, or if the motor pool Sargent is stripping them for spare parts and siphoning gas to sell on the black market, because the government hasn't paid any of you in six months, but it's still going to have a fairly similar effect on those elite knights from the 11thcentury.

The 50 SVD rifles is weird. Full stop. It's a specialist weapon, not a general infantry weapon. In a situation like that, you'd expect to see conscripts armed with AKMs or AK74s, maybe a few SVDs and RPKs.

Now, if you were looking at a contemporary NATO unit from the 60s or 70s, then, yes, you would likely see battle rifles like the M14, FN FAL, or H&K G3. And, when you're describing using an SVD's iron sights, that's more how you have used one of those cold war era battle rifles. Also, while those rifles do have automatic settings, they're intended for semi-automatic fire.

If you're wondering why I'm not even addressing things like the areal support or the RPG, it's because they really don't matter that much. Areal reconnaissance means never having to wonder where the enemy forces are, but basically anything on this list except the RPG, could probably deal with all of the enemy forces on their own. Stacking them together would be absolutely devastating.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you could use pretty much any modern IFV as a one-size-fits-all siege breaker if they're dealing with medieval forces.

When you're looking at modern military forces time traveling into the past, the biggest logistical issue is long term depletion of supplies. There isn't really a question of, “who's going to win? A guy with a rifle that's effective at a range of over a 1km, or 10 guys with pointy sticks. The issue is what happens in six months, or a year, when there's only three or four rounds left for that rifle on the planet, and, there won't be any more for another six hundred years.

-Starke

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[usafphantom2]

IMAGES: Norwegian F-16s landed in Denmark, ready to train Ukrainian pilots

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 06/01/2024 - 15:37in Military, War Zones

The two Norwegian F-16 aircraft, recently tested in Bodo, northern Norway, landed on January 5 in Denmark. After more than 40 years in service, these aircraft will now help Ukraine in its defense efforts.

Led by Lieutenant Colonel Bard Bakke, the Norwegian detachment in Denmark, in collaboration with a broad coalition of nations, provides support from instructors in F-16 for Ukraine's air defense. This includes technical training, mission support and other crucial elements to ensure the effective functioning of the weapons system in Ukraine.

Ukrainian pilots, with experience in other types of Soviet-era fighters, will go through a transition to all the capabilities of the F-16, a long-term venture. Although some effectiveness is expected from the beginning, it will take some time for Ukraine to operate the F-16 according to Western standards.

“I was very impressed by the Ukrainian staff,” says Bard Bakke, who also participated in the international collaboration to establish the F-16 in Ukraine.

The F-16 system in Norway was originally retired on January 6, 2022 and replaced by the F-35. The Norwegian Defense Materials Agency was tasked with decommissioning the F-16 aircraft and preparing them for potential sale. Thirty-two aircraft have already been sold to Romania.

Since the mission to support Ukraine began in July 2023, personnel from across the Norwegian defense sector have been working diligently to reoperate the F-16 after two years on the ground.

The first instructors of the Royal Norwegian Air Force have already been to Denmark in October and now, with the arrival of the aircraft, they are ready to contribute even more. The Norwegian government decided to support Ukraine in building a modern fighter capacity by donating Norwegian F-16 fighters.

The long-term goal is to allow Ukraine to ensure its own security without international support, a crucial step for stability and security in Europe. This support will take place in a multinational framework, led by the United States, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Norway, as well as Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium, decided to donate F-16 fighters to Ukraine. The training of Ukrainian personnel on the aircraft is a fundamental preparation for the donation.

“An impressive effort has been made in the Norwegian defense sector to establish the contribution of F-16 in Denmark,” said Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram, who recently visited Bodo to see first-hand the preparations.

He also sat in the seat during one of the last test flights of the Norwegian F-16s, before the Ukrainian pilots took charge for practical training in Denmark.

"Since the summer of 2023, we have been working to reintroduce the F-16 in the Norwegian Armed Forces. Operating, maintaining and conducting operations with fighters are specialized and complex operations. It was a truly unique and special effort of the entire defense sector, and we are eager to train Ukrainian pilots in the Norwegian F-16,” said Detachment Commander Bakke.

Tags: Military AviationF-16 Fighting FalconUkraine Air ForceRNAF - Royal Norwegian Air Force / Royal Norwegian Air ForceWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Casa de Letras

* * * *

“What can art accomplish? The purpose of art is to accumulate the human within the human being. But when I was in Afghanistan during the Soviet War, and recently, speaking to Donbass refugees in Ukraine, I heard how quickly man gets rid of culture and a monster emerges. The beast is revealed. I do write though.... keep on writing... I write as my teachers taught me, the Belarusian writers Ales Adamovich and Vasil Bykov, whom I remember today with gratitude... I write as my Ukrainian grandmother taught me in childhood when she recited poems from the book Kobzar (The Bard) by Taras Shevchenko. Why do I write ? I've been called a catastrophe writer, but that's not true. Always looking for words of love. Hate will not save us. One and only love And I have hope... ". Svetlana Alexievich on House of Letters blog. 

Casa de Letras

[coffeeincluded]

Just started act 3 in Baldur’s Gate 3 and holy crap I just got bombarded with some chilling side quests one after the next.

The whole thing with the circus and the clown aside (which, what the fuck is up with that circus YOU HAVE REDCAPS WANDERING AROUND), you have:

All the refugees piled into a slum and being harassed and worse

Scratch was abused by his previous owner along with the other two dogs still at the courier

Uma demanding that Astarion help save the Gur children that he was forced to steal for Cazador (and I just know I’m gonna find a room full of abused vampire spawn children)

And a conspiracy to PLANT EXPLOSIVES IN TOYS MEANT FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN (which, something similar has actually happened in real life; the Soviet Union did something similar when they were in Afghanistan in the 1980s)

All of that in the span of one long rest.

Just, damn. That is chilling. And also fantastic. And I kinda want to write something about that, about my Tav’s (Soren, a wood half elf bard) growing horror and disgust and rage; by the end of my playtime Soren was using nothing but intimidation and violence to get information when he only ever used persuasion and deception before.

[haxyr3]

30 Episodes of My Podcast

On New Year's Eve, I published the 30th episode of my podcast. It's a justifiable cause for celebration and reflection.

The podcast's name is Пять минут, Five Minutes. That's the average length of each episode. According to my last survey, only about 40% of you listen to podcasts, and I can understand that. I'm a busy person, too, and often listening to podcasts seems like a waste of precious time. That's why I limit my podcast to just five minutes. And I know from experience that even five minutes can make a big difference in the listening comprehension.

The main idea of my podcast was to create authentic quality content for intermediate and advanced students. That's why the podcast is only published in Russian. And I don't change my scripts specifically for students. I just talk the way I would talk for Russian speakers.But each episode comes with a full script. You can listen and read along , which is a very effective way to improve your listening comprehension skills.

Don't be upset if you think my pace exceeds your ability to understand, or that the vocabulary is too advanced. You have scripts for your convenience. And you can always listen to an episode over and over again-it's only five minutes long!

It is always a good strategy to work with authentic materials. And if they are too difficult, take a slower pace and repeat the recording several times. What seems difficult will soon become easier, and you'll find that you're progressing faster than you expected at first. I've learned from my own language learning experience that the only way to make a noticeable progress is to set the bar high.

Each episode is built around one theme, and I always try to choose topics that might be of interest to Russian language learners. Here's a list of episodes, pick the most interesting one for you and enjoy!

01. Пять Минут. Выпуск 1. О погоде - Weather and how to talk about it in Russian.

02. Пять Минут. Выпуск 2. 8 Марта -International Women's Day and how it has changed over time in Russia.

03. Пять Минут. Выпуск 3. Приметы - Russian superstitions.

04. Пять минут. Выпуск 4. Время - A little bit on time-related cultural peculiarities.

05. Пять минут. Выпуск 5. 1 апреля – день дурака - About April Fools' Day.

06. Пять минут. Выпуск 6. Кофе - The word that causes fierce controversy among Russians.

07. Пять минут. Выпуск 7. Космос и космонавты -- Space and cosmonauts.

08. Пять минут. Выпуск 8. Советское жильё -Soviet housing and urban infrastructure.

09. Пять минут. Выпуск 9. Дача -- Dacha, summer cottages and the role they played in the USSR/ Russia.

10. Пять минут. Выпуск 10. Праздники и слова для них - Russian words for holidays, days-off and more.

11. Пять минут. Выпуск 11. Булат Окуджава - A poet with a guitar, Bulat Okudzhava was one of the most important bard performers in the Soviet Union.

12. Пять минут. Выпуск 12. Русский рок -- on Russian rock music.

13. Пять минут. Выпуск 13. Кириллица -- History of the Cyrillic alphabet.

14. Пять минут. Выпуск 14. Летние каникулы -- How children spent their summer vacations in the Soviet Union.

15. Пять минут. Выпуск 15. Каша - What is kasha? How do people eat cereals in Slavic countries?

16. Пять минут. Выпуск 16. Рыбалка - Gone fishing. Russian stereotypes and jokes about fishing.

17. Пять минут. Выпуск 17. Автомобили - Cars in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia, and a bit of car-related slang.

18. Пять минут. Выпуск 18. Мороженое - Ice-Cream. Why Russian people feel nostalgic about the Soviet ice-cream, and some superstitions related to ice-cream.

19. Пять минут. Выпуск 19. Научная фантастика - Science fiction has a special place in Soviet and Russian literature. This episode explains why science fiction is so important to Russian speakers.

20. Пять минут. Выпуск 20. Море и романтика -- Sea was always romanticized in the Russian culture. Sea is for the brave, rebellious non-conformists.

21. Пять минут. Выпуск 21: Летние заготовки -- Summer preparations. Let's pickle and brew jams!

22. Пять минут. Выпуск 22. 1 сентября – День Знаний -- Celebration of the beginning of the school year in the Soviet Union and Russia.

23. Пять минут. Выпуск 23. Русский Интернет - The Russian segment of the Internet has some peculiarities. I'm talking about some popular services that would have been useful, but everything changed after the start of the war in Ukraine. Many websites became inaccessible from outside Russia or simply turned into fascist trash.

24. Пять минут. Выпуск 24. Новый год - How people in Russia celebrate the New Year.

25. Пять минут. Выпуск 25. Снег - Snow is part of the Russian landscape for 7-9 months of the year. Of course, it has become part of the culture!

26. Пять минут. Выпуск 26. Новогодний стол в СССР - The last episode I managed to record before the full -scale war in Ukraine started. I talk about the new year dishes that were most common in the Soviet Union. If I only knew what 2022 was going to be...

27. Пять минут. Выпуск 27. Война и мат -- Why my blog is called НАХУЯЗ, how the war in Ukraine has split Russian society and how decent people find a way to tell the truth and keep their sanity.

28. Пять минут. Выпуск 28. Виктору Пелевину 60! - The father of Russian postmodernism turned 60! The most enigmatic Russian writer, who has become almost a cult figure, is known for his ironic but ruthlessly truthful diagnosis of post-Soviet society.

29. Пять минут. Выпуск 29. Слово года 2022 -- The terrible war in Ukraine changed the Russian language. Annual Word of Year event reflected that.

30. Пять минут. Выпуск 30. Советский Новый год -- History of the New Year and memoirs of New Year's Eve celebrations by a lady who was a schoolgirl in the 1960s

I love creating podcasts for you, but without your support I can't give you as much time as I would like. If you find my work helpful, please consider becoming my Patreon patron. It only costs $2/month, but it's a sign to me that I'm doing something useful.

[inkyami]

to the last ask game: 5 and 6, i'm curious

5 Favourite song in your native language? I’m using every opportunity to share with people the existence of Shortparis. The group is watched over by Apollo. (more)

Their cover of "Wolf hunt" by legendary soviet bard Vladimir Vysotsky. Honestly it would take me long to describe why this particular song and this theatre performance are important, but here is translation as well as original version (give it a listen, Vysotsky's voice is very distinctive).

6 Most hated song in your native language? Whatever it is that Morgenshtern or Instasamka (rappers?) do.

“Hi I’m not from the US” asks

[krawkpaladin]

Winning the Peace - Inspirations and Core Concepts

So, I've already posted about making a game for the first time, and to help organize some of my thoughts I'd figure I'd go through and explain what inspired this game idea narratively and mechanically, and a bit of delving into my ideas for the core systems in the game.

Narrative Inspirations

The idea from this game had always been kicking around in my skull since high school, after one evening when my parents brought home a DVD from the local library. That night, we watched the film Charlie Wilson's War, which is a highly fictionalized account of the book of the same name which talks about Operation Cyclone, or How the USA Managed To Destabilized Afghanistan For Decades To Stick It To the Soviets. While the film is generally uncritical of Operation Cyclone and the people involved in it, it does have a brief moment towards the end where Senator Wilson is shown trying to get funding to help rebuild Afghanistan, and because the Soviets have pulled out, so has any interest in funding. The narration goes "We won the war, but we lost the peace."

For whatever reason, that line stuck with teenage me. It was the first time I had ever heard that phrase as a teenager, and something about it was very compelling to me. After all, a lot of fiction just assumes that after the main conflict is over, things just sort of fix themselves (until the sequel, anyways). The story either ends with the audience safe in the knowledge that things will get better, or goes forwards to some distant denouement where the audience sees that yes, things did in fact work out.

Later, as I got more and more into the RPG space in college, I saw that in most games, the social/speaking component was not very involved. Of course, not everyone is an excellent orator when roleplaying, so it's a bit unfair to ask the bard to ad-lib their inspirational speech when they have a +12 on their sheet, but usually that was a few instances spread out between characters doing things. Not just combat, but feats of strength, adventuring, casting spells, unlocking chests, etc. There weren't very many heroes whose value lie primarily in their words in a lot of the early TTRPGs I encountered, those primarily being of the D&D and Shadowrun and Pathfinder variety.

To that end, I wanted to emulate stories that were more like Twelve Angry Men, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ikiru, and more recently A Memory Called Empire. The common thread that pulls all of these stories together in my mind is specifically that the protagonists are primarily speakers. None of them get deeply physically involved in the major issues in their stories. They accomplish their deeds through their words, their rhetoric, their ability to convince other people the right thing to do.

So with all that, I ultimately created the first idea of this game that I am calling Winning the Peace. A game where the players take on the roles of political figures in their city after its liberation from the Dark Lord. Where what they say and how they say it is what affects change, not how well they can swing a sword or cast a spell.

Mechanical Inspirations

I didn't really have the mechanical vocabulary to make this sort of game though until I was introduced to what I am going to call the mechanical cornerstones of the game: The Quiet Year and Free From the Yoke. Free From the Yoke has helped me to visualize and understand how to have the player characters and the people they represent (called Communities in the game text) interact, as well as how to construct them, and the Quiet Year forms the basis of how conflict is introduced into the game.

The Quiet Year is a cooperative storytelling game about a community that was forced to leave their homes and rebuild somewhere new. Using a deck of cards as prompts, players imagine their community and draw out important places and structures on a map, changing things as they go along and are prompted by the cards. There is tracking of projects, abundances and surpluses, and contempt within the singular community, but the game only ends when the Ace of Spades is drawn from the deck (and the deck is separated by suit, so you'll get through at least 3/4ths of the deck regardless). Still, this idea of the Oracle Deck, which is also cleverly used to delineate the passing of time, has hugely informed how Events that the players will have to vote on will be generated in the game.

Last year, at about this time, I had the opportunity to play in a game of Free From the Yoke. About one year later, we had finished the planned length of the game and I really enjoyed it. Free From the Yoke is based on Legacy: Life Among the Ruins from the same publisher, but instead of a weird post-apocalyptic future, takes place in a medieval Slavic land where the spirits of the Land are real and the people have just won their independence from the Empire. While the core concept of the separation between characters and houses is present in all of the Legacy games, one thing that really stuck with me in Free From the Yoke was the concept of quick characters, which are kind of minor PCs that can be made up on the spot so that you don't have to either wrangle all of the main PCs together for an adventure or just have a solo affair going on with one character. The primary construction of player characters (Representatives, in game terms) and Communities was primarily inspired by Free From the Yoke, and Representatives especially take more inspiration from quick characters instead of a full-playbook character. Ultimately, I do want more focus to be on the Communities than on the Representatives, as Representatives will come and go. Also, this is going to be a PbtA game, which Legacy games are also based on. So yeah.

The final thing I want to talk about is, well, kind of an anti-inspiration. If you're a fan of RTS games, you'll maybe be familiar with the term C&C-style economy. Named for the Command & Conquer series of games, a C&C economy is one in which the player has 100% control of all aspects of their base-building, construction, research, and pretty much anything else that affects the game. If you've ever played a 4X game like Civilization, you've engaged with a system like this. I want to avoid this in Winning the Peace. The idea that you can perfectly mold your Community does somewhat go against the core story tone I'm hoping to achieve, so while resolving events in certain ways (i.e. what is voted on) does directly affect Community stats, the Community moves are all reactive in nature and are not always positive. I want players to feel like they are controlling their Representative, but their Community is not necessarily something they can control, only act in it's best interests when possible. I'll get into this more when I discuss Community Moves in a later dev diary.

Thanks for reading everyone! If you are interested in keeping up with these, I will be tagging them as "Winning the Peace ttrpg dev diary" for easy searching. I'll try and get these out once a week until I submit for the game jam towards the end of the month.

Now that you've made it this far, here's a reward: my two cats, Baby (top) and Zuko (bottom), being totally adorable by the window.

[patchoulism]

I actually own a vinyl but I can't recount all of them. Most are soviet recordings of classical music or bard songs.

[aftaabmagazine]

A Poet's Fate: Film Review

A Poet's Fate: Film Review

By Farhad Azad

In the epic Russian-language film A Poet's Fate (1959), the life of Rudaki, the celebrated 9th-century Farsi poet, unfolds against the backdrop of the Samanid Empire's grandeur and political intrigue. Rising from humble beginnings to become the court's favored bard, Rudaki's lyrical verses captivate the ruling elite and common folk alike. 

This widespread appeal is vividly depicted in a scene where Rudaki, a man who has risen above societal barriers, encounters a group of laborers who passionately recite his poems. This moment, a subtle nod to Soviet ideals, emphasizes the capacity of art to transcend social challenges and invites the audience to empathize with Rudaki's journey.

Rudaki's heart, however, is not merely captivated by Negina but consumed by a fervent love for her. She is an educated enslaved woman under the ownership of the Grand Vizier's wife, and his passion for her sparks a fierce determination to secure her freedom. This pursuit becomes intricately entwined with his artistic aspirations. It ultimately leads him down a perilous path of political intrigue and personal sacrifice, eliciting the audience's profound compassion and understanding.

As Rudaki's star rises, he encounters envy and opposition from the court's military chief, a symbol of the war-mongering, anti-intellectual sentiment that threatens to stifle artistic expression and social progress. The Shah praises his completed collection of poems as a masterpiece. Yet, it also stirs suspicion and fear among some in power. This tension underscores the societal impact of Rudaki's poetry, as it becomes a catalyst for change and a threat to the established order, including donating his acquired wealth to the struggling poor and oppressed.  

When political winds shift, he uses his poetic gifts, a weapon against tyranny in the spirit of idealistic Sovietism. Amidst the turmoil, he manages to secure Negina's freedom, only to see their reunion tragically cut short—a scene resembling the death of Rabia Balkhi in the bathhouse.

Throughout the film, Rudaki's relentless resilience blazes through as he persists in creating art, even in the face of subsequent exile and poverty. His steadfast belief in the power of poetry to challenge injustice and uplift the human spirit remains a wellspring of strength, even as he confronts political persecution and personal tragedy. This resilience attempts to evoke a deep feeling of admiration and respect for the main character.

A Poet's Fate, directed by Boris Kimyagarov (1920-79) and written by Sotim Ulughzoda (1911-97), stands out for its distinctive fusion of historical narrative and Soviet-era ideals. This cinematic style allows Rudaki to emerge as a folk hero, leveraging his artistic prowess to challenge the established order. His pen becomes a mighty spear against tyranny and an open invitation to embrace intellectualism for the masses.  

This historical drama finely strives to portray a multifaceted historical figure. Yet, in its focus, it overlooks other aspects of the poet's life. Nonetheless, Rudaki's enduring legacy as a cornerstone of Farsi literature remains undeniable, his words continuing to resonate and influence centuries later.

The film opens in Rudakhi’s village, where the young poet (staring Marat Aripov, 1935-2018), already celebrated for his verse, receives a cautionary farewell from his uncle not to mingle with the nobility for “you will be a caged bird.”

Negina (Dilbar Kasymova), the intellectual enslaved woman and the love of Rudaki, laments and foreshadows, “I’ll die in captivity.

“We are enemies forever from now on, Rudaki. Someday, you will curse this unfortunate day.” — Military Chief (Mukhamejan Kasymov, 1907-1971)

“It’s easy to take a poet’s life, but no one has power over his creations, not even a military chief.”—Rudaki (Marat Aripov, 1935-2018)

The tug-of-war between power and artistic expression persists in the region today.

The most quoted of Rudaki’s poems, “بوی جوی مولیان آید همی” “The scent of the waterway of Muliyan comes to me,” composed in Herat to encourage Shah Nasr II (r. 914-943) to return to Bukhara after a lengthy stay is depicted in this scene.

Muliyan, a waterway near the Samanid castle in Bukhara, was the site of a royal garden.

Echoing a historical scene from Rabia Balkhi, the character Negina is killed in the bathhouse. She writes with her blood on the wall: “Farewell, my beloved, in flames of armor today, I leave this faithless world…”

In his twilight years, blind and impoverished, Rudaki, reflecting on his life’s accomplishments, declares, “All my books, my wealth, my very thoughts I give to you because I loved you. I pass on, my friend, my life to those whom I loved.”

Watch the film "A Poet's Fate"

[femchord]

okay now real question. medieval bard bad boy vs soviet bard bad boy. who'd win?

[wikiuntamed]

Five steps of Wikipedia for Thursday, 21st September 2023

Welcome, 안녕하세요, Bienvenida, שלום 🤗 Five steps of Wikipedia from "Dariv Formation" to "Bard (Soviet Union)". 🪜👣

Start page 👣🏁: Dariv Formation "The Dariv Formation is a Late Jurassic geologic formation in Govi-Altay, Mongolia. Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the mudstones and sandstones of the formation. ..."

Step 1️⃣ 👣: Govi-Altai Province "Govi-Altai (Mongolian: Говь-Алтай / Gowi-Altai, pronounced [ˌɡœw̜‿aɬˈtʰæˑ]) is an aimag (province) in western Mongolia. ..."

Image licensed under CC BY 3.0? by Mongolia Expeditions…

Step 2️⃣ 👣: Altai City "Altai City (Mongolian: Алтай хот, romanized: Altai hot, pronounced [aɬˈtʰæˑ χɔʰt]) is the capital of the Govi-Altai province in western Mongolia. As of 2008, its population is 15,800...."

Image licensed under CC BY 2.0? by SentinelHub

Step 3️⃣ 👣: Altai, Govi-Altai "Altai (Mongolian: Алтай) is a sum (district) of Govi-Altai Aimag (province) in western Mongolia. It is located in the south of the aimag, and is not to be confused with the aimag capital, which is also named Altai, but located in the Yesönbulag sum. Wolves are a problem in the district, and in 2001..."

Step 4️⃣ 👣: Altai (city) "Altai (Kazakh: Алтай, romanized: Altai, Russian: Алтай, romanized: Altai), until 2019 known as Zyryan (Kazakh: Зырян, Zyrian) or Zyryanovsk (Russian: Зыряновск) is a town of regional significance in East Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan, the administrative center of Zyryan District. It was..."

Step 5️⃣ 👣: Bard (Soviet Union) "The term bard (Russian: бард, IPA: [bart]) came to be used in the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, and continues to be used in Russia today, to refer to singer-songwriters who wrote songs outside the Soviet establishment, similarly to folk singers of the American folk music revival. Because in bard..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0? by Чегодаев Петр Сергеевич

[axmxz]

i know other countries have their take on the musical genre roughly described as "someone handed a guitar to the life of the party and he wants to do a sing-along", but has any place besides USSR produced such gems of folk art as

"Oh, a Dialectic strolls the fields,

Sending many souls to their perdition!

So before the current kills him dead,

Please, Marusya, love an electrician!"

[chronotopes]

yuliy kim: turns out to have written yet another song about whaling, boats, and/or pirates

me: 

[haxyr3]

Today is Bulat Okudzhava’s birthday, a legendary Soviet poet, writer, musician, novelist, and singer-songwriter. 

Here is my podcast that I dedicated to him.  

[kittoforos]

@sukhodrev​ oh wow! no, it is not, it is this young man: